by
saturdayedge
In the last 5 seasons, there have been an average of 23.4 ?new? head coaches each year taking the field.
This season, we started off with 21 ?new? HC?s; however, with the unexpected (June 7th) retirement of Oklahoma?s coach Bob Stoops, we now have a total of 22 new head coaches entering this upcoming football season. Below is a little bit about each one.
PJ Fleck, Minnesota
In PJ Fleck?s first season at WMU he went 1-11 and then last season led the Broncos to a 13-0 season in the MAC and a Cotton Bowl bid, where they lost 24-16 to Wisconsin. PJ is just 36 years old and is getting a big bump up to the Big Ten taking over at Minnesota. I am not sure he is ready but he went 30-22 at WMU overall Row the boat!
Lane Kiffin, Florida Atlantic (FAU)
There is nothing I can say about Lane Kiffin that hasn?t already been said?His first recruit after getting the FAU job was an ex-FSU QB (De?Andre Johnson) who was kicked off the team for punching a woman in the face and his first hire was ex-Baylor OC, Kendal Briles, who is the son of Art Briles. Kiffin doesn?t seem to care about public image. But to think that he is the best coach for the job, IMO, is questionable?He couldn?t do anything at Tennessee or with a #1 ranked USC team with all their talent?So, to believe that his name alone will be able to take a 9-27 team over the last 3 years to prominence, well good luck with that!
Charlie Strong, South Florida
Charlie Strong lasted only 3 seasons at Texas before getting fired, going a poor 16-21 overall. He is now the new coach at South Florida, who is currently ranked in the preseason top-25. This may be a demotion as far as going from a P-5 to a G-5 team, but former Bull?s coach Taggart definitely left Strong a solid and loaded group with a stud QB in Flowers. If Strong, who is a defensive guru, can get the Bulls? defense to improve they can definitely do what WMU did last season and get to a New Year?s Six bowl game.
Butch Davis, Florida International (FIU)
The 64 year old Butch Davis has coached at the highest levels with the Cowboys and Browns of the NFL. He also coached at Miami and lastly at North Carolina where he was dismissed due to NCAA violations. Davis has not coached since 2010, which is a long time not to be on the sidelines. Davis has a record of 63-43 (16 wins were vacated from UNC) in CFB, 3 Big East Championships and a 5-2 record in the bowls. This will definitely be a drop in jobs and Davis will have his work cut out for him as the Panthers were just 5-19 the last 2 seasons.
Jeff Brohm, Purdue
Jeff Brohm led Western Kentucky to two consecutive CUSA titles and a 30-10 overall record, including 2-0 in bowl games in 3 seasons. Now he takes a step up with a Purdue team that has a cumulative record of 12-42 in the last 4 seasons. He will be replacing Darrell Hazell who previously also came from a G-5 team in Kent St, where he led the Golden Flashes to a MAC championship. But Hazell just couldn?t repeat that success at Purdue. Brohm should have more success especially as Purdue has the players who are accustomed to passing the ball around a lot, just like Brohm?s offense did at Western Kentucky.
Matt Rhule, Baylor
Matt Rhule led Temple to two consecutive 10 win seasons with back-to-back division titles and the 2016 American Athletic Conference title. Rhule was 20-7 over the last two seasons, but just 28-23 overall in his 4 seasons at Temple. Under Rhule, Baylor will be dumping Art Briles fast-paced, high-flying offense, that looked to score a lot of points regardless of time of possession?to now a vanilla, slowed down ?Pro-Style? ball-control, grind it out style of offense, that looks to control the time of possession.
Tom Herman, Texas
Tom Herman takes over as the head man at Texas which will be his first big time coaching job?He gets the job after only 2 seasons at Houston, where he led the Cougars to a 9-3 record last season and a 22-4 overall record the past 2 seasons. Herman is familiar with Texas as he was a graduate assistant there from 1999-2000.
Brent Brennan, San Jose State
This will be Brent Brennan?s first head coaching job after being an assistant for nearly two decades?He was recently at Oregon State where he was their wide receivers? coach for the last 6 seasons. Brennan is familiar with San Jose State as he was an assistant under both Dick Tomey and Mike MacIntyre from 2005-2010. San Jose St, under former coach Ron Caragher, has gone just 19-30 overall in the last 4 seasons and 14-18 in the MWC.
Major Applewhite, Houston
Major Applewhite takes over as head coach, replacing Tom Herman, where he served as his offensive coordinator. Applewhite, IMO, is a good promotion from within as he will be able to keep the familiarity and continuity with the Cougars. In addition, Applewhite also has solid coaching experience, not only at Houston, but also at Alabama and then at his alma mater, Texas, were he was an assistant and assistant head coach under Mack Brown from 2008-2013.
Ed Orgeron, LSU
Ed Orgeron takes over as the new head coach for the Tigers after taking the interim role when long time coach Les Miles was let go. Under Orgeron, the Tigers finished the season with a 5-2 record, including a win over Heisman trophy winner Lamar Jackson and Louisville 29-9 in the Citrus Bowl. Orgeron in the off-season hired Pitt?s offensive coordinator Matt Canada, as the Tigers looked to open things up more via the air, which didn?t scare anyone, to match their solid ground attack. However, Orgeron may not find the early success he wants as their offense loses RB Fournette, 2 wide receivers, most of their TEs and 3 starting offensive linemen. In addition, their defense is losing even more with only 3 starters returning this season.
Justin Wilcox, California
Justin Wilcox took over as the head defensive man for Wisconsin last year after Dave Aranda left to take over LSU?s defense. This will be Wilcox?s first head coaching job. He has previously worked at Cal as their linebackers coach under coach Jeff Tedford from 2003-2005. Before Wisconsin, Wilcox had been a defensive coordinator for high-profile programs like Boise State, Tennessee, Washington, and USC.
Jeff Tedford, Fresno State
Former Cal head coach Jeff Tedford takes over at Fresno State replacing Tim DeRuyter. Tedford was head coach at Cal from 2002-2012 where he had an 82-57 overall record, including going 50-45 in the PAC-12. Since then, he was Tampa?s offensive coordinator, the BC Lion?s head coach, and a consultant at the University of Washington. Tedford knows Fresno State well as he was a QB for the Bulldogs back in his playing days, and later a position coach from 1992-97.
Shawn Elliott, Georgia State
This will be Shawn Elliott?s first full-on heading coaching job. He was an interim head coach at South Carolina after former coach Steve Spurrier suddenly retired mid-season. Elliott, as an interim head coach, led the Gamecocks to a 1-5 record and was most likely the reason why he didn?t get hired to replace Spurrier. Now as the new head man at Georgia State, he is taking over a program that had an overall record of 10-39 in the last 4 seasons. This will be the Panthers 5th season in the Sun Belt conference and it does not look too good for a quick turnaround, especially as they ranked 119th out of 128 teams in total offense.
Jay Norvell, Nevada
Nevada?s new head coach Jay Norvell has experience in both the NFL and college ranks. But this will be his first head coaching job after about 3 decades as a positions coach. Last season he was the wide receivers coach at Arizona State and before that the TE?s coach at Texas. Norvell will bring a new offensive scheme to Nevada where they are going from a run-first based offense to a pass happy ?Air Raid? style. Norvell may find success early as he will have former Alabama 4-star QB David Cornwell to run his offense.
Luke Fickell, Cincinnati
New Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell played his college ball at Ohio State. He was also an assistant there for the past 15 seasons under former coach Tressel and current head man Urban Meyers as well as the interim head coach fr the Buckeyes in 2011 (6-7 record including a Gator Bowl loss). This will be his first full-time head coaching job as he takes over for Tommy Tuberville who went 29-22 overall in the last 4 seasons, including 3 bowl games that resulted in 3 bad blowout losses. This will be a bit of a rebuilding job for Fickell and his staff, especially on the offense where the Bearcats were 99th in the nation in total offense and 123rd in scoring.
Randy Edsall, UCONN
I liked Randy Edsall when he was head coach at UCONN the first time, helping the Huskies move from FCS to the FBS. However, I am not sure that he can bring the magic back with his style of play. As a head coach, Edsall is just 96-104 and was fired by Maryland mid-way through the 2015 season. He is though an improvement over Diaco, who was a poor 11-26 at UCONN the past 3 seasons. Second time around is not always a charm but Edsall has coached at UCONN for 12 years (1999-2010) and found success, something he couldn?t find at Maryland, where he went 22-34.
Geoff Colins, Temple
Geoff Collins comes from Florida where he was their defensive coordinator the past 2 seasons. He has coached various teams but this will be his first head coaching job?Collins, like Matt Rhule, comes from a defensive background?But he definitely has big shoes to fill as Rhule went 20-7 over the past 2 seasons with back-to-back division titles and the 2016 American Athletic Conference title. My prediction is that Temple will be lucky if they win more than 6 games this season.
Mike Sanford, Western Kentucky
Mike Sanford has coaching in his blood as his father was a head coach at Indiana and UNLV. He also was a player, as a backup QB for Boise State (2000-2004), and then made his mark as a position coach for Stanford before becoming offensive coordinator for Notre Dame. This will be his first head coaching gig with Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers won 10 games last season and two consecutive CUSA titles under Brohm so Sanford definitely has his work cut out for him.
Tim Lester, Western Michigan
If anyone is to replace PJ Fleck as head coach for the Broncos, Tim Lester is definitely the perfect candidate to do just that. For one, Tim Lester was a star QB at Western Michigan from 1996-99, He is also a member of their sports hall-of-fame (inducted 2011), passing for 11,299 yards and 89 touchdowns, while setting 17 school records. In addition, he also already coached at Western Michigan in the past as a QB coach in 2005-06 season. If you want understanding and familiarity with the school, then he is the best candidate to do just that. The Broncos went undefeated in the MAC last season and then to a Cotton Bowl game, where they lost to Wisconsin. Fleck had an overall record of 30-22 at WMU.
Tom Allen, Indiana
New Indiana head coach Tom Allen takes over for Kevin Wilson, who was at Indy for the last 6 seasons. However, Wilson was forced to resign after he was accused of mistreatment of players. Allen was the Hoosiers defensive coordinator under Wilson and was promoted from within. This will be his first ever head coaching job as he has been a long time assistant. One thing to note is that Allen has only been with the Hoosiers for just 1 season. But Allen is a native of Indiana where he coached high school football and also graduated from a college in that state. So he knows that state very well, which may help him with recruiting in the future.
Willie Taggart, Oregon
Oregon?s new head coach Willie Taggart turned the South Florida football program around in just 4 seasons and he must have seen something, besides a promotion, in Oregon to make him believe that he can do it faster in Eugene. Well, he better because previous head coach Helfrich took the Ducks to the national championship game in 2014, and just 3 years later he was fired. In Helfrich last season, the Ducks went 4-8, their worst season since 1991, which also included a rare loss to rival Oregon State. Helfrich had an overall record of 37-16 in his 4 seasons at Oregon. Taggart, after 2 rough seasons with the Bulls, led them to a 18-7 record in the last 2 seasons. Overall, Taggart was 24-25 at South Florida and 18-14 in the AAC. This will be Taggart?s 3rd head coaching job after he turned around both Western Kentucky and South Florida. Again, Taggart will have to do some work fast, especially on defense, as Oregon was just in the national championship game in 2014 and the Ducks faithful wants to get back there immediately.
Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma
Lincoln Riley was already being groomed by Stoops to replace him in the future. But, his taking over the Sooners program was expected to happen at least 3 years from now. Well, for whatever reason, Bob Stoops felt it was time for him to leave and for Lincoln to take over the Sooners program. Riley is considered by many to be one of the top young offensive coaches in college football and has won the Broyles Award as the nation?s top assistant in 2015. This though, will be his first big test being the head man at a BIG-TIME school and he will also be doing it as the youngest head coach in the FBS this season, at 33 years of age.
FYI
Heading into the 2017 season, only 4 FBS schools will have the same staff of 9 assistants for at least the 3rd straight year. (Florida State, Miami, Oh., Michigan State and Northwestern)
Side Note: Northwestern has had the same staff since 2011?There are 14 more schools bringing back the same staff for the 2nd year in a row. (Akron, App State, BYU, Miami, Fl., Penn State, Old Dominion, San Diego State, Troy, Tulane, Tulsa, UCF, Virginia and Virginia Tech).
saturdayedge
In the last 5 seasons, there have been an average of 23.4 ?new? head coaches each year taking the field.
This season, we started off with 21 ?new? HC?s; however, with the unexpected (June 7th) retirement of Oklahoma?s coach Bob Stoops, we now have a total of 22 new head coaches entering this upcoming football season. Below is a little bit about each one.
PJ Fleck, Minnesota
In PJ Fleck?s first season at WMU he went 1-11 and then last season led the Broncos to a 13-0 season in the MAC and a Cotton Bowl bid, where they lost 24-16 to Wisconsin. PJ is just 36 years old and is getting a big bump up to the Big Ten taking over at Minnesota. I am not sure he is ready but he went 30-22 at WMU overall Row the boat!
Lane Kiffin, Florida Atlantic (FAU)
There is nothing I can say about Lane Kiffin that hasn?t already been said?His first recruit after getting the FAU job was an ex-FSU QB (De?Andre Johnson) who was kicked off the team for punching a woman in the face and his first hire was ex-Baylor OC, Kendal Briles, who is the son of Art Briles. Kiffin doesn?t seem to care about public image. But to think that he is the best coach for the job, IMO, is questionable?He couldn?t do anything at Tennessee or with a #1 ranked USC team with all their talent?So, to believe that his name alone will be able to take a 9-27 team over the last 3 years to prominence, well good luck with that!
Charlie Strong, South Florida
Charlie Strong lasted only 3 seasons at Texas before getting fired, going a poor 16-21 overall. He is now the new coach at South Florida, who is currently ranked in the preseason top-25. This may be a demotion as far as going from a P-5 to a G-5 team, but former Bull?s coach Taggart definitely left Strong a solid and loaded group with a stud QB in Flowers. If Strong, who is a defensive guru, can get the Bulls? defense to improve they can definitely do what WMU did last season and get to a New Year?s Six bowl game.
Butch Davis, Florida International (FIU)
The 64 year old Butch Davis has coached at the highest levels with the Cowboys and Browns of the NFL. He also coached at Miami and lastly at North Carolina where he was dismissed due to NCAA violations. Davis has not coached since 2010, which is a long time not to be on the sidelines. Davis has a record of 63-43 (16 wins were vacated from UNC) in CFB, 3 Big East Championships and a 5-2 record in the bowls. This will definitely be a drop in jobs and Davis will have his work cut out for him as the Panthers were just 5-19 the last 2 seasons.
Jeff Brohm, Purdue
Jeff Brohm led Western Kentucky to two consecutive CUSA titles and a 30-10 overall record, including 2-0 in bowl games in 3 seasons. Now he takes a step up with a Purdue team that has a cumulative record of 12-42 in the last 4 seasons. He will be replacing Darrell Hazell who previously also came from a G-5 team in Kent St, where he led the Golden Flashes to a MAC championship. But Hazell just couldn?t repeat that success at Purdue. Brohm should have more success especially as Purdue has the players who are accustomed to passing the ball around a lot, just like Brohm?s offense did at Western Kentucky.
Matt Rhule, Baylor
Matt Rhule led Temple to two consecutive 10 win seasons with back-to-back division titles and the 2016 American Athletic Conference title. Rhule was 20-7 over the last two seasons, but just 28-23 overall in his 4 seasons at Temple. Under Rhule, Baylor will be dumping Art Briles fast-paced, high-flying offense, that looked to score a lot of points regardless of time of possession?to now a vanilla, slowed down ?Pro-Style? ball-control, grind it out style of offense, that looks to control the time of possession.
Tom Herman, Texas
Tom Herman takes over as the head man at Texas which will be his first big time coaching job?He gets the job after only 2 seasons at Houston, where he led the Cougars to a 9-3 record last season and a 22-4 overall record the past 2 seasons. Herman is familiar with Texas as he was a graduate assistant there from 1999-2000.
Brent Brennan, San Jose State
This will be Brent Brennan?s first head coaching job after being an assistant for nearly two decades?He was recently at Oregon State where he was their wide receivers? coach for the last 6 seasons. Brennan is familiar with San Jose State as he was an assistant under both Dick Tomey and Mike MacIntyre from 2005-2010. San Jose St, under former coach Ron Caragher, has gone just 19-30 overall in the last 4 seasons and 14-18 in the MWC.
Major Applewhite, Houston
Major Applewhite takes over as head coach, replacing Tom Herman, where he served as his offensive coordinator. Applewhite, IMO, is a good promotion from within as he will be able to keep the familiarity and continuity with the Cougars. In addition, Applewhite also has solid coaching experience, not only at Houston, but also at Alabama and then at his alma mater, Texas, were he was an assistant and assistant head coach under Mack Brown from 2008-2013.
Ed Orgeron, LSU
Ed Orgeron takes over as the new head coach for the Tigers after taking the interim role when long time coach Les Miles was let go. Under Orgeron, the Tigers finished the season with a 5-2 record, including a win over Heisman trophy winner Lamar Jackson and Louisville 29-9 in the Citrus Bowl. Orgeron in the off-season hired Pitt?s offensive coordinator Matt Canada, as the Tigers looked to open things up more via the air, which didn?t scare anyone, to match their solid ground attack. However, Orgeron may not find the early success he wants as their offense loses RB Fournette, 2 wide receivers, most of their TEs and 3 starting offensive linemen. In addition, their defense is losing even more with only 3 starters returning this season.
Justin Wilcox, California
Justin Wilcox took over as the head defensive man for Wisconsin last year after Dave Aranda left to take over LSU?s defense. This will be Wilcox?s first head coaching job. He has previously worked at Cal as their linebackers coach under coach Jeff Tedford from 2003-2005. Before Wisconsin, Wilcox had been a defensive coordinator for high-profile programs like Boise State, Tennessee, Washington, and USC.
Jeff Tedford, Fresno State
Former Cal head coach Jeff Tedford takes over at Fresno State replacing Tim DeRuyter. Tedford was head coach at Cal from 2002-2012 where he had an 82-57 overall record, including going 50-45 in the PAC-12. Since then, he was Tampa?s offensive coordinator, the BC Lion?s head coach, and a consultant at the University of Washington. Tedford knows Fresno State well as he was a QB for the Bulldogs back in his playing days, and later a position coach from 1992-97.
Shawn Elliott, Georgia State
This will be Shawn Elliott?s first full-on heading coaching job. He was an interim head coach at South Carolina after former coach Steve Spurrier suddenly retired mid-season. Elliott, as an interim head coach, led the Gamecocks to a 1-5 record and was most likely the reason why he didn?t get hired to replace Spurrier. Now as the new head man at Georgia State, he is taking over a program that had an overall record of 10-39 in the last 4 seasons. This will be the Panthers 5th season in the Sun Belt conference and it does not look too good for a quick turnaround, especially as they ranked 119th out of 128 teams in total offense.
Jay Norvell, Nevada
Nevada?s new head coach Jay Norvell has experience in both the NFL and college ranks. But this will be his first head coaching job after about 3 decades as a positions coach. Last season he was the wide receivers coach at Arizona State and before that the TE?s coach at Texas. Norvell will bring a new offensive scheme to Nevada where they are going from a run-first based offense to a pass happy ?Air Raid? style. Norvell may find success early as he will have former Alabama 4-star QB David Cornwell to run his offense.
Luke Fickell, Cincinnati
New Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell played his college ball at Ohio State. He was also an assistant there for the past 15 seasons under former coach Tressel and current head man Urban Meyers as well as the interim head coach fr the Buckeyes in 2011 (6-7 record including a Gator Bowl loss). This will be his first full-time head coaching job as he takes over for Tommy Tuberville who went 29-22 overall in the last 4 seasons, including 3 bowl games that resulted in 3 bad blowout losses. This will be a bit of a rebuilding job for Fickell and his staff, especially on the offense where the Bearcats were 99th in the nation in total offense and 123rd in scoring.
Randy Edsall, UCONN
I liked Randy Edsall when he was head coach at UCONN the first time, helping the Huskies move from FCS to the FBS. However, I am not sure that he can bring the magic back with his style of play. As a head coach, Edsall is just 96-104 and was fired by Maryland mid-way through the 2015 season. He is though an improvement over Diaco, who was a poor 11-26 at UCONN the past 3 seasons. Second time around is not always a charm but Edsall has coached at UCONN for 12 years (1999-2010) and found success, something he couldn?t find at Maryland, where he went 22-34.
Geoff Colins, Temple
Geoff Collins comes from Florida where he was their defensive coordinator the past 2 seasons. He has coached various teams but this will be his first head coaching job?Collins, like Matt Rhule, comes from a defensive background?But he definitely has big shoes to fill as Rhule went 20-7 over the past 2 seasons with back-to-back division titles and the 2016 American Athletic Conference title. My prediction is that Temple will be lucky if they win more than 6 games this season.
Mike Sanford, Western Kentucky
Mike Sanford has coaching in his blood as his father was a head coach at Indiana and UNLV. He also was a player, as a backup QB for Boise State (2000-2004), and then made his mark as a position coach for Stanford before becoming offensive coordinator for Notre Dame. This will be his first head coaching gig with Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers won 10 games last season and two consecutive CUSA titles under Brohm so Sanford definitely has his work cut out for him.
Tim Lester, Western Michigan
If anyone is to replace PJ Fleck as head coach for the Broncos, Tim Lester is definitely the perfect candidate to do just that. For one, Tim Lester was a star QB at Western Michigan from 1996-99, He is also a member of their sports hall-of-fame (inducted 2011), passing for 11,299 yards and 89 touchdowns, while setting 17 school records. In addition, he also already coached at Western Michigan in the past as a QB coach in 2005-06 season. If you want understanding and familiarity with the school, then he is the best candidate to do just that. The Broncos went undefeated in the MAC last season and then to a Cotton Bowl game, where they lost to Wisconsin. Fleck had an overall record of 30-22 at WMU.
Tom Allen, Indiana
New Indiana head coach Tom Allen takes over for Kevin Wilson, who was at Indy for the last 6 seasons. However, Wilson was forced to resign after he was accused of mistreatment of players. Allen was the Hoosiers defensive coordinator under Wilson and was promoted from within. This will be his first ever head coaching job as he has been a long time assistant. One thing to note is that Allen has only been with the Hoosiers for just 1 season. But Allen is a native of Indiana where he coached high school football and also graduated from a college in that state. So he knows that state very well, which may help him with recruiting in the future.
Willie Taggart, Oregon
Oregon?s new head coach Willie Taggart turned the South Florida football program around in just 4 seasons and he must have seen something, besides a promotion, in Oregon to make him believe that he can do it faster in Eugene. Well, he better because previous head coach Helfrich took the Ducks to the national championship game in 2014, and just 3 years later he was fired. In Helfrich last season, the Ducks went 4-8, their worst season since 1991, which also included a rare loss to rival Oregon State. Helfrich had an overall record of 37-16 in his 4 seasons at Oregon. Taggart, after 2 rough seasons with the Bulls, led them to a 18-7 record in the last 2 seasons. Overall, Taggart was 24-25 at South Florida and 18-14 in the AAC. This will be Taggart?s 3rd head coaching job after he turned around both Western Kentucky and South Florida. Again, Taggart will have to do some work fast, especially on defense, as Oregon was just in the national championship game in 2014 and the Ducks faithful wants to get back there immediately.
Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma
Lincoln Riley was already being groomed by Stoops to replace him in the future. But, his taking over the Sooners program was expected to happen at least 3 years from now. Well, for whatever reason, Bob Stoops felt it was time for him to leave and for Lincoln to take over the Sooners program. Riley is considered by many to be one of the top young offensive coaches in college football and has won the Broyles Award as the nation?s top assistant in 2015. This though, will be his first big test being the head man at a BIG-TIME school and he will also be doing it as the youngest head coach in the FBS this season, at 33 years of age.
FYI
Heading into the 2017 season, only 4 FBS schools will have the same staff of 9 assistants for at least the 3rd straight year. (Florida State, Miami, Oh., Michigan State and Northwestern)
Side Note: Northwestern has had the same staff since 2011?There are 14 more schools bringing back the same staff for the 2nd year in a row. (Akron, App State, BYU, Miami, Fl., Penn State, Old Dominion, San Diego State, Troy, Tulane, Tulsa, UCF, Virginia and Virginia Tech).
